M5.1 Earthquake 47 km SW of La Libertad, El Salvador — February 6, 2024
2024-02-06 13:53:19 UTC (2024-02-06) · approx. 7:53 AM UTC-6 local
Felt by 23 people across nearby locations.
On February 6, 2024 at 13:53 UTC, a magnitude 5.1 shallow crustal earthquake struck 47 km SW of La Libertad, El Salvador, at a depth of 66.1 km and coordinates 13.1349°, -89.5713°. The earthquake was reported felt by 23 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 3.7 (light). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 308 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 408, placing it among routine seismic activity. The nearest populated place is La Libertad (population 16,855).
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 674 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 2.0 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Nearest Populated Places
ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity
Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 23 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Population exposure (USGS PAGER)
Estimated population that experienced each level of shaking. Based on the USGS PAGER rapid impact assessment, which combines ShakeMap output with global population grids.
| Shaking intensity (MMI) | Description | Population exposed |
|---|---|---|
| MMI 3 | weak | 14,731,481 |
| MMI 4 | light | 882,265 |
Earthquake Details
-89.5713°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.1 earthquake near La Libertad, El Salvador?
The magnitude 5.1 earthquake that struck 47 km SW of La Libertad, El Salvador on February 6, 2024 at 13:53 UTC had a depth of 66.1 km. It was felt by 23 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 3.7 (light). For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 13.1349°, -89.5713°, which is 47 km SW of La Libertad, El Salvador. The nearest populated place is La Libertad (population 16,855).
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.1 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000lxb4). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2024, February 6, 2024). M5.1 Earthquake 47 km SW of La Libertad, El Salvador — February 6, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000lxb4/